76ers May Have Bigger Problems Than Most Anticipated

The Philadelphia 76ers are facing an uphill battle, and the season hasn’t even begun. 

No, not with their bench, but with their starters. Throughout this preseason there has been high praise about how this team is going to run everyone out of the gym and no one can hold a candle to this team. Well, after seeing the blowout loss to the Celtics, things have changed. 

Despite the fact that the starters didn’t play, the issue is it may not have made a difference if they started in that game. When they all played against the Brooklyn Nets, they showed flashes of what they could do, but the defense failed to show up. It seems like this could be a problem in the future.

It’s true that they have plenty of time to figure things out, considering the next preseason game is a few days away, but there are growing levels of concern. Now many will say it’s overblown and that this is just them going through the motions, and that may be true. However, it’s not uncommon for the issues you see in the preseason to rear their ugly heads at the worst possible time.

This is a catalyst of history repeating itself. Look no further than a team like the Celtics, who live and die by the three. Last season they had very little help in the interior and continued to fly with the notion that three points is better than two. This was a consistent problem, and they managed to luck out until they ran into Philadelphia and were done in the blink of an eye. 

This kind of mindset could be the downfall for this 76ers team. The additions of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown were brought in to help minimize the stress on Joel Embiid, but now, they could face another issue in sloppy play. The turnovers have been another red flag, and it looks like the team is just moving too fast. These turnovers have been a direct fault of poor execution. That’s another thing that you have to keep an eye on.

The offense is only going to help, but so much before you need your defense to get some stops. The weakness on this team is in the paint, the exact opposite of what it was last season. There will be some different looks once the season starts, but if they continue like they have been, this season will be a waste, and everyone’s hopes will revert back to seasons past.